Hard shell luggage case

ABSTRACT

A hard shell luggage case includes a body, a cover, a zipper and a plurality of wheels. The body includes an inner space defined by a bottom surface, annular lateral surface and a top surface, and a mouth defined by a mouth peripheral edge and located at the top surface. The cover is pivoted to the body and capable of being lifted to open, and includes a flat surface and a cover edge for mating with the mouth peripheral edge. The zipper is disposed between the body and the cover and includes a first row of teeth disposed on the mouth peripheral edge, a second row of teeth disposed on the cover edge, and at least one slider movably disposed between the first and second rows of teeth to separate or mesh together the two rows of teeth. The wheels are disposed at the bottom surface of the body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a luggage case, and more particularly to a hard shell luggage case.

2. Description of the Prior Art

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional hard shell luggage case comprises a body 11, a cover 12 pivoted to the body 11, a zipper 13 disposed between the body 11 and the cover 12, and a plurality of wheels 14 disposed at the bottom surface 111 of the body 11 and the bottom surface 121 of the cover 12. When the zipper 13 is pulled open, the user can pack items into the luggage case. However, this conventional hard shell luggage case has the following disadvantages.

First of all, the upper, lower, left and right lateral surfaces of the body 11 and the cover 12 are opened or closed by pulling of the zipper 13, and the wheels 14 are disposed at the bottom surfaces 111, 121 of the body 11 and the cover 12. When the luggage case is in an upright position, namely, the wheels 14 come into contact with the ground, and once the zipper 13 is pulled open, the body 11 and the cover 12 will be separated and opened left and right, so that the items packed therein will fall out. Therefore, the conventional luggage case must be laid down before being opened to take out or put in items, which makes the luggage case less inconvenient to use.

On the other hand, when the luggage case is opened in an upright position, and the body 11 and the cover 12 are separated from each other, the wheels 14 disposed at the bottom surfaces 111 of the body 11 and the cover 12 will relatively move to change relative positions of the wheels 14, so that the luggage case is likely to fall down, especially, when the wheels 14 are moved into a straight line position.

Finally, with reference to FIG. 2, which is a side view of a conventional hard shell luggage case, in addition to being opened or closed by the zipper 13, the body 11 and the cover 12 are pivoted at another side thereof by the use of two hinges 15. Since both the body 11 and the cover 12 are used for storing items, it is necessary to enhance the connection between the body 11 and the cover 12 by the use of the hinges 15, which, however, increases the cost of the luggage case.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a hard shell luggage case which is convenient to use since it can be opened to take out or put in items either in upright or horizontal position.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a hard shell luggage case which won't fall down even when it is opened and stands in an upright position.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a low cost hard shell luggage case.

To achieve the above objective, a hard shell luggage case in accordance with the present invention comprises: a body, a cover, a zipper and a plurality of wheels. The body includes an inner space which is defined by a bottom surface, annular lateral surface and a top surface, and a mouth which is defined by a mouth peripheral edge and located at the top surface. The cover is pivoted to the mouth of the body and capable of being lifted to open, and includes a flat surface and a cover edge which is adapted to mate with the mouth peripheral edge. The zipper is disposed between the body and the cover and includes a first row of teeth disposed on the mouth peripheral edge, a second row of teeth disposed on the cover edge, and at least one slider movably disposed between the first and second rows of teeth to separate or mesh together the two rows of teeth. The plurality of wheels is disposed at the bottom surface of the body.

Preferably, the body includes a front shell and a rear shell.

Preferably, the mouth peripheral edge of the body includes a rear shell edge formed on the rear shell and a front shell edge formed on the front shell, the cover edge of the cover includes a rear cover edge for mating with the rear shell edge, a front cover edge for mating with the front shell edge, and a pivot piece which is disposed between and connect the front shell edge and the front cover edge.

Preferably, the mouth peripheral edge of the body includes a rear shell edge formed on the rear shell and a front shell edge formed on the front shell, the cover edge of the cover includes a rear cover edge for mating with the rear shell edge, a front cover edge for mating with the front shell edge, and a pivot piece which is disposed between and connect the rear shell edge and the rear cover edge.

Preferably, the front shell and the rear shell are connected by a connecting member.

Preferably, the cover includes a groove formed on the flat surface, and a carrying handle which is disposed in the groove and movable between a retracted position and a pulled-out position, when in the pulled-out position, the carrying handle partially protrudes out of the flat surface, and when in the retracted position, the carrying handle is lower than the flat surface.

Preferably, the flat surface of the cover is parallel to the bottom surface of the body.

Preferably, when the wheels are placed on a support surface, the flat surface of the cover is parallel to the support surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a conventional hard shell luggage case;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the conventional hard shell luggage case;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hard shell luggage case in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing that the hard shell luggage case in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention is opened;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing that a notebook is placed on the cover of the hard shell luggage case in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the hard shell luggage case in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein the carrying handle is pulled out;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hard shell luggage case in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein the carrying handle is retracted in the groove of the cover; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing that the hard shell luggage case in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention is opened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3-5, a hard shell luggage case in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention comprises: a body 20, a cover 30, a zipper 40 and four wheels 50.

The body 20 includes an inner space which is defined by a bottom surface 21, annular lateral surface 22 and a top surface 23, and a mouth 25 which is defined by a mouth peripheral edge 251 and located at the top surface 23. In this embodiment, the body 20 is formed by a front shell 201 and a rear shell 202 which are connected by a connecting member 26 which can be (but not limited to) a zipper, and of course, the body 20 can also be integrally structured (as shown in FIG. 7). The mouth peripheral edge 251 of the body 20 includes a rear shell edge 2512 formed on the rear shell 202 and a front shell edge 2511 formed on the front shell 201.

The cover 30 is pivoted to the mouth 25 of the body 20 and can be lifted to open, and includes a flat surface 31 and a cover edge 32 which is adapted to mate with the mouth peripheral edge 251. In this embodiment, the cover edge 32 of the cover 30 includes a rear cover edge 322 for mating with the rear shell edge 2512, a front cover edge 321 for mating with the front shell edge 2511, and a pivot piece 61 which is disposed between and connect the front shell edge 2511 and the front cover edge 321. The flat surface 31 of the cover 30 is parallel to the bottom surface 21 of the body 20, and therefore will be horizontal when the body 20 stands upright.

The zipper 40 is disposed between the body 20 and the cover 30 and includes a first row of teeth 41 disposed on the mouth peripheral edge 251, a second row of teeth 42 disposed on the cover edge 32, and two sliders 43 which are movably disposed between the first and second rows of teeth 41, 42 to separate or mesh together the two rows of teeth 41, 42. It is to be noted that the sliders 43 will be stopped by the pivot piece 61 which is disposed between the front shell edge 2511 of the body 20 and the front cover edge 321 of the cover 30, when they are pulled to the rear shell edge 2512 of the body 20 and the rear cover edge 322 of the cover 30, which prevents the sliders 43 from disengaging from the two rows of teeth 41, 42 during the process of pulling the sliders 43.

The four wheels 50 are disposed at the bottom surface 21 of the body 20. When the wheels 50 are placed on a support surface 66 (ground), the flat surface 31 of the cover 30 is parallel to the support surface 66. Therefore, the flat surface 31 will be horizontal when the hard shell luggage case of the present invention stands upright.

What mentioned are the structural relations of the main components of the embodiment, and the function and operation of the hard shell luggage case are set forth as follows.

Since the top surface 23 of the body 20 is formed with the mouth 25, and the four wheels 50 are disposed at the bottom surface 21 of the body 20, when the wheels 50 are placed on a support surface 66 (the ground), namely, the body 20 is in the upright position, the cover can be opened by pulling the slider 43 to separate the first and second rows of teeth 41, 42. The items contained therein won't fall out of the body 20 of the luggage case from the mouth 25 of the top surface 23, when the cover 30 is opened. Namely, the cover 30 can be opened to take out or put in items even when the hard shell luggage case of the present invention is the upright position, without having to lie the luggage case horizontally. Hence, the hard shell luggage case in accordance with the present invention is more convenient to use since it can be opened to take out or put in items either in upright or horizontal position.

Since the top surface 23 of the body 20 is formed with the mouth 25, the four wheels 50 are disposed at the bottom surface 21 of the body 20, and the cover 30 which can be opened is disposed at the mouth 25 of the top surface 23 of the body 20, when the body 20 is placed upright and the cover 30 is open, the positions of the four wheels 50 with respect to one another will remain unchanged, which allows the body 20 of the hard shell luggage case of the present invention to remain standing upright without falling down.

The cover 30 which can be opened is pivoted to the mouth 25 at the top surface 23 of the body 20, and is not used for storing items. Therefore, the pivot connection between the body 20 and the cover 30 can be achieved by the use of the zipper 40 or the pivot piece 61, without using the strong but expensive hinges. Hence, the cost is reduced.

It is to be noted that, as shown in FIG. 5, when the four wheels 50 are placed on the support surface 66 (the ground) to make the luggage case stand in an upright manner, the flat surface 31 of the cover 30 will be parallel to the support surface 66, so that an item 68 (which can be a notebook, for example) can be placed on the flat surface 31 of the cover 30, without sliding therefrom, which makes the hard shell luggage case of the present invention more versatile.

Referring then to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the cover 30 further includes a groove 33 formed on the flat surface 31, and a carrying handle 34 which is disposed in the groove 33 and movable between a retracted position and a pulled-out position. When in the retracted position, the carrying handle 34 is lower than the flat surface 31, so that the item 68 can be stably placed on the flat surface 31 of the cover 30.

Referring then to FIG. 8, a hard shell luggage case in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the first embodiment, except that:

The mouth peripheral edge 251 of the body 20 includes a rear shell edge 2512 formed on the rear shell 202 and a front shell edge 2511 formed on the front shell 201. The cover edge 32 of the cover 30 includes a rear cover edge 322 for mating with the rear shell edge 2512, a front cover edge 321 for mating with the front shell edge 2511, and a pivot piece 61 which is disposed between and connect the rear shell edge 2512 and the rear cover edge 322. Namely, the cover 30 and the body 20 of the second embodiment are pivoted in a direction different from the first embodiment, so that the cover 30 is pulled to open in a different direction with respect to the body 20.

While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hard shell luggage case comprising: a body including an inner space which is defined by a bottom surface, annular lateral surface and a top surface, and a mouth which is defined by a mouth peripheral edge and located at the top surface; a cover being pivoted to the mouth of the body and capable of being lifted to open, and including a flat surface and a cover edge which is adapted to mate with the mouth peripheral edge; a zipper being disposed between the body and the cover and including a first row of teeth disposed on the mouth peripheral edge, a second row of teeth disposed on the cover edge, and at least one slider movably disposed between the first and second rows of teeth to separate or mesh together the two rows of teeth; and a plurality of wheels disposed at the bottom surface of the body.
 2. The hard shell luggage case as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body includes a front shell and a rear shell.
 3. The hard shell luggage case as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mouth peripheral edge of the body includes a rear shell edge formed on the rear shell and a front shell edge formed on the front shell, the cover edge of the cover includes a rear cover edge for mating with the rear shell edge, a front cover edge for mating with the front shell edge, and a pivot piece which is disposed between and connect the front shell edge and the front cover edge.
 4. The hard shell luggage case as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mouth peripheral edge of the body includes a rear shell edge formed on the rear shell and a front shell edge formed on the front shell, the cover edge of the cover includes a rear cover edge for mating with the rear shell edge, a front cover edge for mating with the front shell edge, and a pivot piece which is disposed between and connect the rear shell edge and the rear cover edge.
 5. The hard shell luggage case as claimed in claim 2, wherein the front shell and the rear shell are connected by a connecting member.
 6. The hard shell luggage case as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover includes a groove formed on the flat surface, and a carrying handle which is disposed in the groove and movable between a retracted position and a pulled-out position, when in the pulled-out position, the carrying handle partially protrudes out of the flat surface, and when in the retracted position, the carrying handle is lower than the flat surface.
 7. The hard shell luggage case as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flat surface of the cover is parallel to the bottom surface of the body.
 8. The hard shell luggage case as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the wheels are placed on a support surface, the flat surface of the cover is parallel to the support surface. 